April flowers bring the start of track season in Michigan. The gear-heads at 3 Balls Racing hosted one of the seasons first events at Gingerman this past Saturday which was a perfect opportunity to test the Chia Neon before next weekends 24 Hours of LeMons event at the same track. More pics inside.The first run of season is a sensitive time for my race cars. Sure I've spent a few weeks preping it, but there always seems to be a bolt I didn't completely tighten or seal I forgot was leaking while the car spent 6 months covered with a tarp behind a garage. Tying up those loose ends was why I woke up at 4:30 in the am and towed the Chia clear across the state.
Two laps into my first session, the Chia wasn't happy. The temp gage was dead but worse was the sputtering at high rpm. Under the hood I found the coolant sensor unplugged, 2 leaking heater hoses, and loose electrical connections to the throttle body all of which where easy fixes but the engine miss persisted. After 30 more minutes of attempted diagnosis I turned a high rpm miss into a no start. Three hours and a lot of cursing later, the thing still didn't run and back onto the trailer it went.
Although I only made it around twice most of the sixty other cars made full use of the bright sunny day and almost warm temperatures. Four other LeMons teams (including 3 Balls themselves) got some pre-race testing in. This was my first 3 balls events and they run a good show. Things got rolling on time, the four groups were pretty evenly matched and pizza lunch was included.
Hat tip to Jahan for all his help trying to repair the Chia and everyone who lent us tools and support.
Man, this field look exactly like the group Chris and I used to run with, Tarheel Sports Car Club. It's great to see low dollar stuff coming to the track as it's starting to become rare.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, I can't remember the last time I saw a C4 or an MR2 at an open track day.
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